and the school massacre in connecticut is now elevated gun control. democrats had been steering away from the issue out of political fear. connecticut changed the equation and the president will offer proposals in his state of the union. he'll face strong opposition from republicans and the gun lobby. that means bet on some action but not the sort of restrictions democratic liberals prefer. >> our thanks to john harwood. let's try to go back to mary thompson and see what is moving at the new york stock exchange. >> well, things are moving and my mike is finally working. as i mentioned earlier or was trying to mention, the dow had briefly dipped below 13,000. it is off the lows of the day. but again, wall street continues to keep watch on wall street or washington. most specifically the 3:00 meeting between the president and the leaders of congress. volumes today as you might expect, this is the second to last trading day of the new year, volumes are low. in fact, they're tracking below yesterday's levels, which were also very weak. as it stands right